Coach Ramesh Powar humiliated me at World T20, says Mithali Raj

Agencies
November 28, 2018

New Delhi, Nov 28: Senior Indian woman cricketer Mithali Raj on Tuesday slammed Committee of Administrators member Diana Edulji and coach Ramesh Powar, saying the two are biased against her and have tried to "destroy" her.

In a scathing e-mail to the BCCI, Mithali said her axing from the World T20 semifinal against England reduced her to tears and left her the most deflated in her over two-decade long career.

In the note to BCCI CEO Rahul Johri and GM (Cricket Operations) Saba Karim, one of India's finest batswomen alleged that she was disrespected by the duo of Edulji and Powar.

"...I felt deflated, depressed and let down. I am forced to think if my services to my country are of any value to a few people in power who are out to destroy me and break my confidence," Mithali, also the ODI captain, wrote in her mail.

While Powar refused to comment on Mithali's allegations, Edulji could not be reached for a response.

Mithali spoke about how Edulji's stance backing her axing, made her feel "vulnerable". Edulji, in an interview to PTI, had stated that the team management's decision could not be questioned on selection matters.

"To put things in perspective, I have always reposed faith in Diana Edulji and have always respected her and her position as a member of the CoA.

"Never did I think she will use her position against me, more after hearing what all I had to go through in the Caribbean as I had spoken to her about it," Mithali wrote.

A source alleged that Mithali was forced by Edulji to divulge the details of her meeting with Johri and Karim on Monday.

"Her brazen support in the press with regard to the decision of my benching in the semifinal of the T20 World Cup has left me deeply distressed, more because she knows the real facts having spoken to me," the player wrote.

Mithali has played 85 T20Is for India and has scored 2288 runs. She averages more than 50 in both the Test and ODI formats.

"May I say that I am aware that by writing this email I am making myself even more vulnerable. She is a CoA member while I am just a player," she lamented.

"But the brazen support of a CoA member is a clear sign of bias and also that a stance has already been taken against me. By saying 'I don't support someone' and then going all out to support my benching in the press is prejudice of the clearest sort," said Mithali.

She, however, made it clear that she has no hard feelings for T20 captain Harmanpreet Kaur, who was a party to the decision of her being dropped for the semifinals and stood by it even after the defeat.

However, her relationship with Powar hit nadir in the West Indies and Mithali said she still hasn't understood the breakdown.

"My issues with the coach started immediately as we landed in the West Indies. At first there were small signs that his behaviour towards me was unfair and discriminatory," she alleged.

She said that Powar's behaviour caused her "stress".

"For instance, walking off if I am sitting anywhere around, watching in the nets when others bat but choosing to walk away when I am batting in nets, if I try to go up to him to talk to start looking into his phone and keep walking," she said.

"It was embarrassing and very evident to everyone that I was being humiliated. Yet I never lost my cool.

"Finding the situation completely out of control and realising that it is important to resolve issues as it affects the team I reached out to the team manager and conveyed my grievances."

According to Mithali things went from bad to worse after that.

"After the meeting his behaviour turned worse. He would not even acknowledge me. To him I didn't exist in the team.

"If I was around he would immediately move away from the scene, if I looked to wish him he would deliberately start looking in other direction. He continued to behave badly as I have already informed you yesterday. It appeared to me that for him the meeting had hurt his ego."

Mithali said she was even asked not to show up at the ground by Powar during the game against Australia.

"In the evening after the team meeting before the Australia game, Ramesh rings up in my room and instructs me not to come to the ground as the media will be there," she alleged.

"I was taken aback as to what media has to do with me being with the team. I was told I was not to be with my own team in one of our biggest games. I was shell shocked."

Mithali said Powar also deliberately ignored her at nets to make it clear she won't play the semi-finals after which she broke down.

"It was worrying and insulting because the coach was out to destroy and humiliate me," she wrote.

"I couldn't control my tears having given it my all for 20 years. It seemed my efforts had no value."

Comments

Mohammed
 - 
Thursday, 29 Nov 2018

Mithali Raj, Best batswomen of India. Proud of India.

 

We are with u Mithali Raj.

 

True Cricket Fan.

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News Network
March 4,2020

Mar 4: The BCCI has decided to implement strict cost cutting measures with the notable decision being IPL 2020 champions' prize money will be halved as compared to 2019. In a circular sent to all IPL franchises, the BCCI has notified that instead of a whopping Rs 20 crore, the IPL champion team will now receive Rs 10 crore only. "The financial rewards have been reworked as a part of the cost cutting measures. The champions will get Rs 10 crore instead of Rs 20 crore. The runners-up will get Rs 6.25 crore from earlier Rs 12.5 crore," a BCCI notification, in possession of news agency, read.

The two losing qualifiers will now get Rs 4.375 crore each.

"The franchises are all in good health. They also have multiple ways like sponsorships to bolster their income. Hence the decision on prize money taken," a senior BCCI source said.

However, a state association hosting IPL games will get Rs 1 crore each with franchises and BCCI contributing Rs 50 lakh each.

It has also been learnt that mid-level BCCI employees won't be allowed to avail business class flights like earlier times for flying to the Asian countries (Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, UAE) where the flying time is less than eight hours.

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News Network
April 4,2020

New Delhi, April 4: India skipper Virat Kohli has said that the 2014 Test series against England was the lowest point of his career.

He made the revelation during a candid Instagram Live session with former England batsman Kevin Pietersen.

To date, the 2014 Test series in England remains one of the worst Test series for Kohli as he averaged just 13.40 from 10 ten innings with his highest score being 39.

"I felt like as a batsman, you know you are going to get out in the morning as soon as you wake up. That was the time I felt like that there is no chance I am getting runs. And still to get out of bed and just get dressed for the game and to go out there and go through that, knowing that you will fail, was something that ate me up," Kohli told Pietersen.

However, just four years later, Kohli made a triumphant return to England as he scored a century in the opening Test of the 2018 series and finished as the highest run-getter in the series.

Kohli told Pietersen that the performance in 2014 came because he was just thinking about his own batting.

"2014 series happened, for all the younger guys listening, because I was too focused on doing well from a personal point of view. I wanted to get runs. I could never think of what does the team want me to do in this situation," Kohli said.

"I just got too engulfed with England tour - if I perform here, Test cricket, in my mind I am going to feel established and all that crap on the outside, which is not important at all," he added.
During the chat, Kohli talked about his favourite format in cricket and he also revealed the main reason for turning into a vegan.

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Agencies
January 11,2020

London, Jan 11: Former cricketer Sachin Tendulkar's famous lap around the Wankhede Stadium after the World Cup 2011 win has been nominated in Laureas's list for the most inspiring sporting event in the last twenty years.

The moment featuring Tendulkar has been described as "Carried on the shoulders by a nation".

On his sixth attempt at the World Cup and with India not having won the competition since 1983, Tendulkar finally became a part of the team that lifted the coveted trophy. Carried on the shoulders of the Indian team, he made a lap of honour, shedding tears of joy after the victory was sealed in his home city.

The 2011 World Cup was also the first time, in which a host nation ended up winning the trophy.

Apart from Tendulkar, England's Andrew Flintoff is the only other cricketer to feature in the list. In 2005, England managed to defeat Australia in an Ashes Test, but Flintoff chose to first shake hands with Brett Lee rather than celebrate with his side.

Matthias Steiner (weightlifting), Natalie du Toit (swimming), Sky Brown (skateboarding), Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee (triathlon), Xia Boyu (mountaineering) have been nominated in the list.

Female tennis stars also feature in the list for coming up with an equal play, equal pay campaign. After pressure from Venus Williams and others, Wimbledon announced that female tennis players would receive prize money equal to the men's.

German international footballer Miroslav Klose was playing for Lazio in Italy's Serie A in 2012 against Napoli when he rose for a ball in the early moments of the game.

The ball came spiraling off his hand and skirted into the back of the net and a goal was awarded. While most players would carry on as if nothing had happened, Klose was honest with the referee and admitted that he handled the ball.

As a result, he also finds a place on the list.

The Laureus Sporting Moment Award celebrates the moments where the sport has unified people in the most extraordinary way.

This campaign has shortlisted 20 sporting stories from the last 20 years that have left their mark on the world.

The winner will be decided on the basis of public voting. It has already started, and the final date to cast the vote is February 16.

Finally, the result will be declared on February 17.
With three knock-out rounds, the top-20 moments will be whittled down to ten then five, with the top-five moments going head-to-head.

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